Punk: Its Traces in Contemporary Art

By Matthew Duffield

In 1977, punk rock exploded onto the music scenes of London and New York and soon spread its tentacles to become a global phenomenon. Fast forward nearly 40 years and its influence can still be heard; in fact, many of its original practitioners haven’t stopped.

Not just in music, but across many forms of art, punk lives on – as the exhibition Punk: Its Traces in Contemporary Art extensively documents. Curated by David G. Torres and featuring exhibits by over 50 artists, Punk includes installations, documentaries, photos, videos and paintings where the punk attitude and ethos has left its mark. There’s also a section tracing the origins of punk through to the present day.

Anarchy, social alienation, nihilism, artistic and sexual freedom, and an aesthetic that wasn’t always pretty: these are among the concepts associated with punk, and this exhibition provides an excellent opportunity to see how they fit into the style of the 21st century. “Punk ain’t dead!”